5.  The applicant was born in 1981 and is currently detained at a remand centre in Gdańsk.
6.  On 26 November 1998 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of having committed a robbery. Subsequently several sets of criminal proceedings were instituted against him under the supervision of the Gdańsk District Prosecutor. They were all later joined to be conducted together by the prosecutor's decision of 12 April 1999.
7.  On 26 June 1999 the Gdańsk District Prosecutor officially launched a criminal investigation against the applicant.
8.  On 25 October 2005 the applicant was indicted before the Gdańsk District Court on an initial charge.
9.  The first hearing, scheduled for 24 January 2006, was cancelled due to the absence of the applicant and the co-accused.
10.  On 1 March 2006 the Gdańsk District Court quashed the applicant's detention.
11.  The next two hearings, listed for 11 April and 17 May 2006, were cancelled due to the absence of the applicant and the co-accused.
12.  On 17 May 2006 the applicant was again detained on remand by the decision of the Gdańsk District Court; however, following the judgment of the Gdańsk District Court given in another set of criminal proceedings the applicant started to serve a sentence of four years' imprisonment.
13.  At the hearing held on 6 July 2006 the court ordered that an expert's report on the applicant's mental health be prepared.
14.  Between 31 August 2006 and 6 June 2007 the court held seven hearings, of which three were cancelled (one was adjourned due to the applicant's illness whereas the other because it was not possible to secure the applicant's transport from prison).
15.  On 3 August 2007 the case was assigned to another judge who held the first hearing on 23 October 2007.
16.  The hearings, scheduled for 14 and 18 December 2007, were adjourned as the applicant filed a motion for access to the case-file.
17.  At the hearing held on 19 December 2007 witnesses were heard.
18.  The hearing scheduled for 13 February 2008 was adjourned.
19.  The next hearings were held on 5 August, 17 October and 25 November 2008 and 15 January 2009.
20.  On 22 January 2009 the Gdańsk District Court gave a judgment sentencing the applicant to two years and three months' imprisonment. He appealed.
21.  On 26 June 2009 the Gdańsk Regional Court upheld the judgment given in the first-instance.
22.  On 11 April 2008 the applicant lodged a complaint with the Gdańsk Regional Court under section 5 of the Law of 17 June 2004 on complaints about a breach of the right to a trial within a reasonable time (Ustawa o skardze na naruszenie prawa strony do rozpoznania sprawy w postępowaniu sądowym bez nieuzasadnionej zwłoki) (“the 2004 Act”). He sought a ruling that the length of the proceedings before the Gdańsk District Court had been excessive and an award of just satisfaction in the amount of 10,000 Polish zlotys (PLN).
23.  On 10 June 2008 the Gdańsk Regional Court dismissed the complaint. The court observed that the length of the proceedings in the applicant's case could not be considered as unreasonable. It further held that the trial court could not be held responsible for delays caused by the absence of witnesses. It referred to the complexity of the case and the number of witnesses and held that the proceedings had been conducted diligently.